''Bharathi'' is a 2000 Indian

Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...

-language

biographical film A biographical film or biopic () is a film that dramatizes the life of an actual person or group of people. Such films show the life of a historical person and the central character's real name is used. They differ from Docudrama, docudrama films ...

based on the life of Subramania Bharati starring Sayaji Shinde, Devayani and Nizhalgal Ravi. The film was directed by Gnana Rajasekaran and won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Tamil for the year 2000.

Plot

It is a

based on the life of Tamil poet Subramania Bharati.

Cast

* Sayaji Shinde as Subramania Bharathi ** Pushpak Ramesh as young Subramania Bharathi * Devayani as Chellamal, Bharathi’s wife. * Ramesh Kumar as Subramania Bharathi's friend * Nizhalgal Ravi as S. P. Y. Surendranath Arya * T. P. Gajendran as Kuvalai Kannan * Srikanth as Chinnaswami Iyer, Bharathi’s father * Junior Balaiah * Delhi Kumar * Balu Anand * Bala Singh * Kumar Natarajan *

Amarasigamani D. Amarasigamani (12 November 1950 – 21 June 2021) was an Indian actor and poet who worked on Tamil films and television serials. Career Amarasigamani began his acting career in drama troupes, working with actors such as S. V. Sahasranamam, ...

Ganesh Babu E. V. Ganesh Babu is an Indian film director, writer and actor who works in Tamil-language films. He made his acting debut with '' Bharathi'' (2000) and played Vijay's friend in four films including ''Sivakasi'' (2005). He worked as an assist ...

as Bharathi's son-in-law

Production

During his days as a district collector, Gnana Rajasekaran was invited as guest for an event where a student suggested him to make a film on poet Subramania Bharati which created a spark in him and went to Coimbatore and read books about him. The director wanted to cast

Kamal Haasan Parthasarathy Srinivasan (born 7 November 1954), known professionally as Kamal Haasan, is an Indian actor, filmmaker and politician who predominantly works in Tamil cinema. Considered as one of the most accomplished actors of Indian Cinema, Haas ...

in the lead role, but the film's budget did not allow it. So he chose Marathi actor Sayaji Shinde, who made his debut in Tamil cinema. The dubbing voice for Shinde was given by actor Rajeev. The female lead role was initially offered to actress

Suvalakshmi Suvaluxmi is an Indian former actress who mainly appeared in Tamil films. She also appeared in Bengali, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada films. Portraying homely characters , she is well known of her characters in ''Aasai'' (1995), '' Gokulathil ...

, whose refusal prompted the team to sign on Devayani. The filming was held at locations like Kadaya, Ettayapuram, Kasi and Pondicherry. The film's budget was 1 crores.

Soundtrack

The music was composed by Ilaiyaraaja. The song "Nirpadhuve" is set in Kalyani raga. The audio was launched at Park Sheraton Hotel, Chennai. Sajahan Waheed of ''

New Straits Times The ''New Straits Times'' is an English-language newspaper published in Malaysia. It is Malaysia's oldest newspaper still in print (though not the first), having been founded as a local offshoot of Singapore-based ''The Straits Ti ...

'' wrote "Isaignani Illayaraja showcases his three-decade experience in the Tamil music industry thorough this brilliant effort".

Reception

Malathi Rangarajan of ''

The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It was founded as a weekly publication in 1878 by the Triplicane Six, becoming a daily in 1889. It is one of the India ...

'' said, "THE MAJESTIC GAIT, the intimidating, piercing eyes that sparkle with a mix of eccentricity, anger, defiance and passion – Shayaji Shinde is indeed a remarkable choice for the role of Bharati" and "It is another fantastic break for Devyani as Chellamma, the wife of Subramania Bharati. Her soft, vulnerable docility and her helpless effete submission to her husband's impractical way of life have been beautifully portrayed". '' Rediff.com'' said, "Sayaji Shinde as Bharati is simply splendid. His is an impressive performance, with nary an inkling of the trepidation that he is enacting Bharati's role -- he, a Maharashtrian and Tamil, an alien tongue". ''Tamil Star'' wrote "Bharathi" may not be a commercial success. All said and done, with its superior quality it is certain that the film is bound to bag plenty of awards in near future". Seetha Ravi of ''

Kalki Kalki (), also called Kalkin, is the prophesied tenth and final incarnation of the Hinduism, Hindu god Vishnu. According to Vaishnavism, Vaishnava cosmology, Kalki is destined to appear at the end of the Kali Yuga, the last of the four ages i ...

'' praised the acting of Shinde and other actors, Ilaiyaraaja's music, Thangar Bachan's cinematography and Krishnamoorthy's art direction. ''

Dinakaran Dinakaran is a Tamil daily newspaper distributed in Tamil Nadu, India. It was founded by K. P. Kandasamy in 1977 and is currently owned by media conglomerate Sun Group's Sun Network. ''Dinakaran'' is the second largest circulated Tamil dai ...

'' wrote "The events that happened in Bharathi's life are as unlimited as the ocean. From among them the particular aspect of how Bharathi braved the burning situation of personal poverty by facing it's challenges as a undisputed king of the world of poetry is beautifully narrated in this film. What has been told in this by director Gnanasekaran has been narrated in an excellent manner. He has won a diamond crown for his career through this film. Through his melodious, musical scores, music director Ilayaraja has given his heart-felt respect to Bharathi, the poetic genius. The cameraman Thangarbachchaan has brought before our eyes the very period of Bharathi's life". K. N. Vijiyan of ''New Straits Times'' wrote "This film will satisfy those who have been lamenting the lack of good subjects in Tamil movies and quench the curiosity of those fascinated by Bharathi's poems".

References

External links

* * {{Sujatha 2000 biographical drama films 2000 films 2000s Indian films 2000s Tamil-language films Best Tamil Feature Film National Film Award winners Films directed by Gnana Rajasekaran Films scored by Ilaiyaraaja Films that won the Best Costume Design National Film Award Films whose production designer won the Best Production Design National Film Award Indian biographical drama films Tamil-language Indian films